Eight
by keigee
Summary: "..And so, she wanders off to a rainy town, the so-called Wonderland. But it wasn't..." NatsukixOC
1. Chapter 1

Eight

_A/N: My first Uta-Pri fic! Whoa! And about the title…There's a totally irrelevant reason why I named this "Eight" but oh well..haha..  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Uta-Pri. Just Midori and other new charas. If I did, I would've been married to Natsuki by now. () Aannd I also don't own the song Midori sings. The great band Paramore owns it. Also, this chapter's title doesn't belong to me, neither. It's a title of a song sung by Miku, and this song is made by an epically awesome guy named Hachi. 3  
>Oh right. The time setting is about 3 weeks after the start of the school year. Yeah.<em>

Chapter 1: In a Rainy Town, Balloons Dance with Devils

"Tch. Now where have I gotten to?" Midori mumbled as she stepped up to a huge iron gate with peculiar designs on them. The most she could see that night under the one flickering light post were a G clef, a bass clef, and an eight note. Obeying her tired feet, she sat down beside the huge brick wall bordering the gates. Her eyelids felt as heavy as stones. But she shouldn't sleep in a place like this. Who knows what might happen to her. Rape, kidnap for ransom, murder. She was sure of one thing, though. The worst thing that could happen to her would be getting sent back home. She looked around the dark empty streets, hoping she could find someone to like, assault or something for enough money for just this night's lodging. In her haste to escape from home, she completely forgot about taking money for lodging, food, and stuff like that. All she had with her was a week's worth of clothes and her one and only beloved Telecaster. She folded her knees and rested her head on them. Then, when she turned to her left, she saw something move in the darkness. Or was it just her messy brown hair blocking her sight? But when she tucked them back, the moving thing became clearer. Under the crescent moon's light, golden hair glimmered and a silhouette of a tall guy carrying something like a suitcase came to view.

"_Must be a businessman_," Midori thought. A sinister smile crept up her face. Blending into the darkness, she quickly dashed across the street and walked opposite to the man's direction until she was a good distance behind him when she crossed the street again. She slowly snuck up behind him and in one quick move, she grabbed his wrists and squeezed them tight behind him.

"Agh! What the—" the guy groaned but abruptly stopped a few seconds before something dropped to the asphalt. Midori ignored it and was now attempting to press a pressure point behind the neck when suddenly, the guy's head turned and about five milliseconds later, he whirled so quick that Midori was sent staggering aback. But she quickly regained her footing, considered she knew some judo.

"Hand over all your money now and I'll let you live another day unharmed," she spoke just like evil villains she was in movies.

"Leave me alone, street rat," he spoke back, his voice dripping with iciness and his emerald orbs like that of the devil. A normal girl would be frightened to death by now, but Midori wasn't a normal girl. She was everything but normal. Add to that the fact that she was desperate for a good night's sleep right now.

"So this is how it goes, eh?" she replied as she dropped her luggage bag and her Telecaster on it. "Challenge accepted." And so, the battle was on. They jabbed and kicked at each other, only to end up missing every time. After a while of swerving and jumping and kicking and rolling, Midori was getting a bit tired. Actually, she was tired like hell. But she tried her best not to pant so much, seeing her opponent hasn't even broken a sweat. In fact, he looked a hundred times more pissed off than a while ago. Midori decided to use what remained of her strength for her ultimate down-taking move and charged at him when suddenly, a big guffawing person just appeared out of nowhere in front of her. He seemed to pick up something she can't make out and walked towards her opponent. The object soon gave off a glare under the moon's light. It was a pair of glasses and it seemed the big guy slipped it on the guy.

"Huh? Headmaster?" spoke the guy, she presumed, the threat in his voice now replaced with that of pure innocence. Suddenly, the big peculiarly-clad person turned to her, and she recognized him immediately. Shining Saotome.

"What do we have here? A little lost girl having a brawl with my academy's student in the middle of the night?" He gave her an unpredictable grin, as if he was planning something. And yes, he actually was. Planning something that just might change fate.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"What exactly is Natsuki's part time job that it took him this long to get back?" queried Ren, who leaned beside the door. Natsuki had not come back and it was already midnight. Being his roommate, Syo got a little too worried and went to all his friends freaking out. And so, Haruka, Tomochika, Masato, and Ren were all here. Ittoki and Tokiya had gone to search the whole school once again just to make sure.

"Even I don't know. He only told me he'd be back by eight because of his part time job, took his violin and left," Syo replied. "What if he lost his glasses and went all Satsuki and sent 50,000 people more to the hospital? Or maybe went home because Satsuki doesn't want to come back? Or maybe he broke his glasses and stayed Satsuki and got lost in the streets and decided to live in the streets and become an independent musician? Or worse!"  
>"Or worse?" everyone in the room chorused, getting on the edge of their seats.<p>

"HE MUST'VE GOTTEN STUCK IN A PIYO PIYO COLLECTIBLES STORE AND WON'T COME BACK UNLESS HE GETS THEM ALL!" Everyone in the room face-faulted. Suddenly, the room's door burst open.

"Natsuki's in the Headmaster's office!" announced Ittoki with Tokiya behind him. They all rushed off to the office, having one thought in their mind. Satsuki.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"Tch. If only you had given me your money in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess," Midori hissed at Natsuki, dealing him a death glare that sent him quivering.

"I promise! I really would've given it, but I don't know why I didn't!" replied Natsuki, which took Midori.

"You mean...you don't remember—" she started but suddenly, the office's door flew open.

"Natsuki! What happened? Did you drop your glasses?" shrieked a blond guy wearing a designer hat frantically. Along him came two red-haired girls and about four guys. The red-headed guy was as frantic as the little blond, and the other guys seemed to just watch the situation seriously, as if analyzing what happened. They all looked at Midori as if she was an alien, which kind of pissed her off.

"Headmaster, who's she?" asked the girl with long red hair.

"W-what exactly happened, Shinomiya-san?" spoke the girl with the short red hair in a somewhat weak and soft voice.

"Ah, you should be thankful I was there!" spoke Shining with that usual feel-high tone of his. "I caught this girl assaulting Natsuki-kun from behind. That was when his glasses fell and I knew it was going to be dangerous at this rate so I stopped them just in time before he sends her to the hospital!" They all turned to the girl, who was as bewildered as a lost kitten, but as pissed off as a hungry lion at the same time. What's with the glasses falling? And sending her to hospital? Hah! Like her skills would allow that. Then she looked around.

"Okay wait. Just two questions. Where exactly am I and who are you people?" she snapped. She hated it when stuff confused her.

"At this very moment, you are in my very own Saotome Academy! I obviously own this school and run it and these people are just some of my students. And you just happened to commit the crime of attempted assault on one of them. And we all know where criminals go, yes?" Midori froze. She was dead meat, and she realized that just now.

"W-wait a sec! Can't you punish me some other way? Like maybe school service or something? I mean, come on man! I'm a homeless minor!" she retorted. She was tired like hell. And sleeping in jail was definitely out of the option.

"But little miss, the only way you can do that is to be a student here!" Shining replied with a roar.

"Let me enrol, then! I'll work for my tuition as well!"  
>"Hmm? It seems you do not know what kind of school this is. Saotome Academy is an academy for music and musically talented people. Do you think you'll qualify?" She had to admit she wasn't very good at music. She only made music to release whatever she was feeling, most of the time being anger and frustration, resulting to her songs always being intensely metal rock. But this was her only glimmer of hope. She took out her Telecaster from its bag.<p>

"Got some amps?" she said coolly to Shining, who snapped his fingers, summoning two men in tux and shades carrying an amplifier and a microphone. Once the set-up was done, she strummed the intro and began.

"_And when it rains in this side of town,_

_ It touches everything. Just say it again and mean it,_

_ So we don't miss a thing._

_ You made yourself a bed at the bottom of the blackest hole._

_ And you'll sleep till May and you'll say_

_ That you don't wanna see the sun anymore._

_ Well oh, oh. How could you do it?_

_ Oh, I, I never saw it coming._

_ Oh, oh. I need an ending so why can't you stay_

_ Just long enough to explain?"  
><em>

"_Her voice has a unique timbre. So smooth and flawless, as well as her playing. And that is a very soothing but deep song, the type that gives you intense mixed feelings_," Shining complimented inwardly. "Who wrote the song?" he asked her.

"Me," she said nonchalantly.

"What's your name?"

"Suzu—" she started but quickly cut herself off. This was her only chance of freedom. She couldn't screw this up. "Miyazaki Midori." Shining grinned that very unfathomable smile again.

"Miyazaki Midori, welcome to Saotome Academy!"

_A/N: Uh so, yeah..And if you're asking what a Telecaster is, consult old Wiki. Comments, suggestions, criticisms, and the like are my lullabies to sleep. Thank you! ^_^_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Yeah, chapter two. To the people who've gotten this far, thanks dudes! 'Nuff said.  
>Disclaimer: Never owned any anime, including Uta-Pri. And again with the title, it's not mine. Still a song of Miku by the one and only Hachi-sama...3<br>_

Chapter 2: Wonderland and the Sheep's Song

"Good morning, Miyazaki-san!" called a familiar voice from behind the brunette. It was her rommmate, Haruka Nanami, along with her other roommate Tomochika Shibuya, or Tomo-chi as she called her. Luckily, there was one more bed in their room. And to Midori's mirth, her new roommates didn't annoy her a bit. In fact, Tomo-chi craved for as much sleep as she did, and Haruka was just one nice girl.

"You'll stay with Haruka and Tomochika from now on. And you'll be attending the A class, since you are still a new student. Well, everyone back to their rooms!" Shining had said last night. And now, she was headed to the said class, with her roommates who she made friends with in such a short time. They were pretty much nice people, after all. They immediately understood why she assaulted the blond guy last night, and they didn't even ask why she was wandering the streets at night, to her delight. As they entered the A class room, they were greeted by a grinning red-haired guy, who Midori immediately remembered as one of those guys who came rushing into the principal's office last night.

"Good morning, ladies! And welcome to the class, Midori-chan!" he beamed at the three. Midori just stared at him flatly.

"Er..Who are you?" she asked. Well, it is protocol to ask a stranger's name, right?

"I'm Ittoki Otoya! Ittoki will do!" he replied with a little glance at the short-haired girl beside her, which Midori didn't fail to notice. _"He must like her," _she thought as she smirked at the guy's transparency.

"Woh! We're classmates!" spoke that innocent voice too familiar for Midori to forget. The very sight of him both shocked and irked her, probably because he was all smiling like this and talking to her as if nothing ever happened when it's all because of him that she's here now. In hell. "I'm Shinomiya Natsuki! Nice meeting you again!" Nice? NICE? Thanks to him, she now has to work her ass off everyday in this school, all the while handling possible mountains of homework and such. Because of him, she'd probably be found and get sent back home. Because of him, her life is hell.

"Shinomiya Natsuki..." The threat in her voice caused a massive drop in the room's temperature. Everyone else in the room had completely frozen, including a confused and quivering Natsuki. "You just made my life hell. And I'll be dragging you with me."

"Not so fast, Midori-chan!" spoke an odd familiar voice from behind her. It was that cute, skimpy, pink-haired idol, Ringo Tsukimiya. Really, with how cute and girly Ringo was, one really couldn't tell he was a guy. Midori figured he must be the class' adviser, since he wasn't wearing a uniform. "We still have classes, okay? Everyone settle down! I have something important to tell you today~!" Everyone had sat down in their seats, except of course for the newcomer, Midori. "Oh, Midori-chan! You'll be sitting next to Masato-kun~!" She pointed at a guy with straight blue hair. Midori remembered him to be one of the guys from last night. He was just closing his eyes, leaning back on his chair with his arms across his chest, as if nothing was happening around him. Midori slumped into the empty seat beside the guy and slowly assumed a position of sleeping on the desk.

"Okay! This coming Friday, you'll be doing some song-making again! Just like last time, an idol and a songwriter will write a song as a pair, the idol for the lyrics, and the songwriter for the melody~! Oh, right! Midori-chan! Which group are you in?" Midori sat upright when her name was called. She didn't quite know herself if she was more of a performer or a songwriter, because most of the time, she was both. But now, she has to choose.

"Uh..songwriter," she replied. At the very least, if she chooses this, she could still release all her feelings into making songs, just like always.

"Okay then! The pairings this time will be different, so this time, the pairings will be decided by fate~!" Tsukimiya-sensei held a bundle of strings in his hand, their ends facing up. "You will hold one string end each and whoever you're connected to will be your partner!" All of them had gathered around and taken hold of one string end. Midori nonchalantly took hold of an end near the corners, just wanting to get this day over with. Then she glanced around. That Ittoki guy had his eyes glued on Haruka, as well as Masato and another blue-haired guy she soon recognized as Ichinose Yamato. She was about to wonder why he was here, but then she remembered hearing from somewhere that he had a twin named Tokiya. So this is him, huh?

"I'll be letting go, then! And 1, 2, 3~!" And the bundle of strings were set free. Since there were still a lot of strings above hers, Midori found it hard to see where it connected to. Not that she cared, though.

"Haru-chan~! Me and Yuu-kun are still partners! Lucky!" squealed Tomo-chi as she glomped a blushing Haruka. The aforesaid girl's pair was Ichinose, and her blushing peaked Midori's interest. Talk about harem. Then, Midori sensed someone approach her. She turned to see the one person she didn't want to see. She looked at the string she was holding. It was connected to him. To the bastard called Natsuki. The guy turned as white as paper when Midori dealt him another death glare. Ah, hell.

"Tch. You had better be good at this or I'll friggin' fail you," she hissed at the blond megane, who now looked at her curiously.

"Eh? How will you do that?" he asked like a child asking his mother how humans are made.

"You underestimating me or something? It's pretty simple, you know. I can just disappear and not make the melody and poof, you fail. Or turn into Koko Krunch, but hell I care." She smirked victoriously but to her surprise, Natsuki just beamed a very sheepish smile at her.

"I must do my best then, right?" he said with soft green eyes behind gleaming glasses. He looked nothing like the Natsuki she met last night. It was as if he wasn't that guy at all. Before she realized it, Midori was now getting curious about him. And the thought of that ticked her off. No, his very existence did. Like hell.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"Tch. No melody's coming to mind," Midori grumbled as she walked along the hallways. She had just gotten back from exhausting janitress work, part of her school service. She has to wake up early in the morning to do kitchen work in the cafeteria, and again during lunch and early this night. Her recess times have to be taken by janitress work, as well as 3-5 pm, which is normally just free time. She gets only one hour of rest, which is right now. Then she'll go to kitchen work, eat, do two more hours of janitress work, then finally she can sleep. And now, because of the effing song-making project, she has to spend this one hour of rest to learn some piano since songwriter group students are supposed to know at least that. Just today in class, she was asked to play a piano piece, and all she could do was stare at it and tell Tsukimiya-sensei flatly that she can't play piano.

"Eh? So how did she get in?"  
>"Maybe she's rich and she bribed the Headmaster.."<br>"The Headmaster would never agree to that!"  
>"How did she get in here, then?" gossiped everyone in class. Well, except for those who heard her sing and play last night, of course.<p>

"I'm sorry, Tsukimiya-sensei, but guitar is the only thing I can play," she half-hissed as she sent a glare at the whole class, which froze in fear.

"Well, that's bad. You're in the songwriter group, and all songwriters here have to know how to play piano at the very least. But don't worry! The week's just started! You've got plenty of time, so go for it, okay~!" was what Tsukimiya-sensei said. And so, here she is, walking towards the music room and intent on learning piano, without any first-hand knowledge or aid. She could've gone to ask Haruka to teach her, but she knew better than to drag such a nice girl into her problems. Besides, Haruka already has that project on her load, and tired as she may be now, she couldn't possibly show her luggage on others. That's just inhumane. Looking for some kind of distraction from all the current turmoil, her sea-green wandered off to the ceiling, observing any design patterns and stuff. Suddenly, she heard something. The sound of a violin. A song she haven't heard before. The song was somewhat calming and tranquil, but somehow it felt kind of deep. Contempt, sorrow, depression—These were just a few of the things she could feel from the song. It sounded just like a song she would make. Slowly, she walked towards it, as if the song was dragging her. It came from the music room, where she was headed. She peered into the door's little window and instantly, she froze. Her brain stopped working. The only thing she absorbed was the scene in front of her. Natsuki stood facing the room's windows, fingers dancing gracefully along the violin's strings. His golden hair glistened in the sunset's soft light. His eyes were just shut, as if he was playing in his sleep. Midori couldn't believe her eyes. There was no way this guy could write something so deep and sad and depressing. Just hours ago, she saw him in the cafeteria idiotically staring at Tomo-chi's Piyo key chain and squealing "Ah, how cute!" and grinning like a little girl huggling her favourite teddy bear. There was no way. Then she noticed. He didn't have his glasses on. They just lay there uselessly on top of the grand piano. He looked serious, far from the smiling Natsuki that greeted her this morning. The Natsuki she was seeing right now was completely different.

"Who exactly are you, Shinomiya Natsuki?"

_A/N: Uh..Definition of term/s:  
>Megane- dude who looks good wears glasses. It's a manga term._

_Is all. *bows* And as usual, comments, criticisms, suggestions, and the like are welcomed with open arms. ^_^_


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